happy-ween

Happy Halloween!! I need to get some damn energy before I go dance my balls off tonight!

Cord is being Larry, the working class ladybug. No, I'm not kidding. I was going to wear my mom's Cleopatra costume from the 70's...but I tried it on and it was a no-go. So I braved party city on the night before Halloween (holy fuck) and got some accessories - I got an Indian Headress (headdress?) whatever... and a Native-American inspired necklace. All totaling under $10, so I was happy. I'm going to figure something out for what I'm gonna wear on the body, but I'm sure something brown will be just fine. So we'll see! Really, what I want to do is sit home and watch scary movies and not do a DAMN thing, but I guess I'm still young and I must go out and live it up....blech!!

But, regardless, happy halloween to all you ghouls and goblins out there!

So those are our pumpkins.....Cord's is the special one on the left, mine is on the right - an attempt to be Jack from the Nightmare before Xmas movie!

urban spectacles

This guy is amazing!! I want a pair!!! (If only...)

www.urbanspectacles.com

by the way - BRRR!

de-freaking-lish.

I am currently eating for lunch this amazing concoction that I could literally eat every day for every meal:

Very simple, but so freaking yummy.

One Flour tortilla (the carb conscious kind - actually very tasty!)
One slice of low fat american cheese
Desert Pepper Trading Co. Pinto Bean Dip (as much as you want b/c it's amazingly healthy!)
Desert Pepper Trading Co. Corn, Black Bean, and Roasted Red Pepper Salsa (same as above with as much as you want!!)
A bit of homeade guac, which I make just using one avocado, 1/2 of a tomato, diced, and a little bit of diced onion and garlic powder, and S&P.

Basically just take the tortilla, load up half of it with the cheese and the bean dip, toast in an oven or toaster oven for a bit, then pull out, load up with the salsa and guac, and FREAKING INHALE. OMG. omg.omg. it's so good. mmmmm..... i want more. :(

Everything's going great! Great workout last night, wii fitted the night before, I've lost another pound or two (according to mr. wii fit man - haha) and I'm on the excited side of food again, well at least this week.

I am going home to MD for a good friend's wedding this weekend so I will be eating amazing food (I believe I'm having MD crabcakes and chicken for the wedding dinner - holy hell) and am not going to even THINK about how bad any of it is for me - because it will be de-freaking-lish.

Back to the health train!!

Pretty inspired today. Went shopping last night. Spent a frick ton of money. $168!! EEK!

Got lots of yummies. Came up with and found some fun healthy snack/meal ideas - so I'm inspired yet again. Wow, this is such a wave of ups and downs. And I ate so poorly this weekend that I don't think I've lost a single pound since the beginning! I actually feel fatter!! wah. Whatever. I'm doing the best I can right now!

Some things that I've made or am planning on making:
- (made these last night) - Pumpkin, oatmeal, apple butter "cookie-cakes" I'm calling them, because they are SO moist and cake-y.....but they're super healthy (no oil or butter and mostly brown instead of white sugar), and they're delicious. Threw a couple choc. chips in a few and some raisins/pecans in others.... yUM!
- (made this last night too) - Chicken, rice, lots of veggies and low fat cream cheese/cream chic. soup/evap milk/little bit of cheese casserole. It's so filling b/c of the rice that you only have to eat a little bit!! I'm gonna have several meals out of this!! But I'm too anxious to make my other fun things so I gave a huge thing of it to Cord. :)
- (making this tonight) - Organic Whole Wheat Mac N Cheese, meatless crumbles, tom, green pep, onion, cheese, spices casserole!!! I made this for EM's debate watching party and it turned out really good!! So I'm pumped about that.
- also got some great snacky things and healthy bean dips and whatnot. Gonna make my own guac tonight, which will be fun. Good times.

Hopefully this will make up for the 14 lbs of food I inhaled at Loveless Cafe Sat. Night....

CAPTURE MUSIC CITY!!

WELL, IT'S OFFICIAL!! I'M A PUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPHER!!

I could not be more excited!!!  

To those of you who don't have a clue what I'm talking about, I'll elaborate for ya.  Several months ago, I entered a photography competition called Capture Music City.  Put on by the Tennessean, it was a competition where locals (mostly amateurs or "side-jobbers" like myself) could upload their photos in and of Nashville to be voted on, in hopes of having their photos published in a coffee table book full of photos "capturing music city."

So I entered a few photos, and voted constantly, and asked my friends to help and vote for me, and I MADE IT IN THE BOOK!  Not only did I make it in the book, I got TWO photos in the book.  I am SHOCKED and so EXCITED!!   Out of over 22,000 photos submitted, 880 photographers competing, and over one MILLION votes, two of my photos were selected to be in the book of only about 200 photos.  This is such an amazing feeling!!  

It's crazy to think that just two years ago I took a cool picture and thought, "hmm, this is neat. Maybe I'll try and actually attempt to take a cool photograph!"  Now, after lots of practice, money invested in gear, and a passion that I have "developed" for photography (pun totally intended haha!!), I have the privilege of being voted and selected to be in an amazing photo book of Nashville.  This is such a huge deal for me.  So thank you to everyone who has supported me by voting for me, purchasing my photos, using me for your event, and also people who have just been there!!!  You have no idea how much you are appreciated!!!

You can check out my CMC photos that made it in the book here and here.   Enjoy!  And if you are looking for a great gift idea or book about Nashville, this one really is a great book!!!  I know you can get it at Davis-Kidd, but I'm not sure where else they're going to be selling it.  

Ok, that's all the blabbing I can do, but YAY!!! YAY!! hahaha!! YAY! :-)

starving

why am i so freaking starving?

will nothing fill me up?

stab.

choo freaking choo

So, the health train has hit a few bumps, but in general is doing pretty well.... I'm just so over this!! Can I please go get my fat sucked out, my face fat melted away, and everything smoothed out? Please?

I don't mean to sound bitter....but I hate lettuce. I am so busy that I haven't had a chance to get to the grocery store and buy healthy things that are interesting and fun. I need a rejuvination.

I need TIME. I need a VACATION. I need a miracle. I doubt that I will be looking like Heidi Klum by Dec 1. (mind you, I know that that is never going to be a realistic goal, but a girl can dream, can't she?)

Someone make me a skinny bitch.

.please.

turtle

*I meant to post this blog on Sunday, but it didn't happen. So here we go.*

I almost ran over a turtle today while driving by my house. I was so sad because I just knew that the fools behind me were not as considerate and caring as myself, and that they would just run over it. I was wrong. Every single car behind me swerved to miss this little turtle crossing the street. It was very heartwarming. Made me feel a little better about people and their love of turtles.

I went to the Everybodyfields show at the Belcourt. Two things:

1) Opening act, Theresa Andersson, fucking incredible. Wow. Violas, dulcimers, drums, killer vocals, guitar, tambourine, all looped to make an incredible show. Mixed with an intense and light-hearted stage presence, I was literally awe-stricken. Speechless. I couldn't describe how amazing she was. I bought the CD, and it's amazing. Please, for your own sake, check her out.

2) Main act - The Everybodyfields - well, I really like this band. They're one of my favorites, which is why I feel so strongly about this show. I am mad at them right now. Lead singer dude was so wasted that I couldn't understand a single word that came out of his mouth. He couldn't sing a freaking note. He was drinking on stage (which is fine to me if you're not already DRUNK), and he made strange, uncomfortable comments to the crowd. The poor girl in the band was so irritated and uncomfortable herself that she spent the entire show watching him to make sure he wasn't going to fuck something up drastically. It was bad. I was insulted. I want my $16.50 back. People barely even clapped after some of the songs. I heard some people commenting about how uncomfortable he made them feel for the entire show (keep in mind, at the Belcourt, it's not like you can turn around and talk to your friend and ignore the band. You are there, sitting, watching whatever is on stage.) I even heard fans after the show commenting on how strange and uncomfortable the entire evening was. I would advise them not to piss off Nashville again, or they might just get screwed in a town where it's hard to find loyalty and crowds are usually not very embracing. We embraced them at the last Belcourt show where they were incredible....but now I'm a little angry and might not see them next time they're in town. I'll give them some time to work their internal shit out before I spend another $20 to feel awkward for three hours.

buffalo style

So, I am in LOVE with the buffalo chik'n nuggets I mentioned yesterday. THEY ARE SO FREAKING GOOD!! I can't imagine ever going back to eating a buffalo style chicken tender again! I don't have to worry about biting into a piece of some foreign part of the chicken, and this is SO much healthier! Don't get me wrong, I probably will delve into some real chicken tenders on a special occasion, but these are a great, healthy replacement! Paired with a side of cheesy broccoli (the green giant single servings - amazing) I'm FULL!

Today I woke up feeling slimmer. My stomach looks like it's finally returning to normal. I feel good.

I do feel like I'm getting a little redundant on my health and food blogging, so I will at least mention something else going on in the world, because though I may think I am, I am not the center of the universe...

Nashville is hosting the presidental debate tonight. I am so freaking pumped. Also pumped about the ladies vegetarian potluck debate watching party I'm attending. HA! I'm excited that 1) I'm finally taking an interest in politics, and 2) that Nashville is getting so much press right now. I'm proud of this city - I hope the media puts some good spin on how awesome this place is. :)

goings-on

So, some food updates, ideas, and things I've seen....

Day 8!!! And feeling GREAT. ha. i couldn't resist.

First off, wow for the weekend. I ate like the word "health" wasn't even in my vocab! Friday night Cord and I had plans of going on a nice date - you know, dinner and movie. Nothing spectacular. But long overdue. Well, after a few beers at Red Door, we instead decided to eat Hot Italian Beef for dinner and just go home and rent a movie. There were no good movies that we could rationalize spending $7 on for an on-demand HD movie, so we free-movied Donnie Darko (which Cord had never seen) and we both passed out quite early. Needless to say, it was a fun night filled with beer and bad-for-me food. But oh so fun. And, my roomate made pumpkin bread pudding and made the mistake of telling me to have as much as I want. Bad news bears.

Saturday, we babysat for Cord's boss' 4 year old son. SO IN LOVE!! He is a ball of energy, but SO sweet and such a good kid. We had a blast! We did eat some pizza though, so sin #3 of the weekend!! Then we went to Red Door yet again, and drank moore beer. Sin #4, 5, 6.....10

By Sunday I was so sick of eating like a fat man that I went to Kroger and got lots of healthy foodages. I have a bowl of raw peppers and cucumber that I can use for a snack or to throw on some lettuce for a great little salad. Oh, and speaking of lettuce....

I have a strange relationship with lettuce, as you might know from reading previous posts of mine. But mostly, it's just so hard to keep fresh, it's not accessible, and it's just been an overall pain for me. SO, I've still been trying to perfect my method of lettuce storage, preservation, and comsumption. I think I've found a good method. Buy a head of lettuce, rinse it. Chop it up into sections and store in a large (with some space so it's not all smooshed together, thus becoming slimy) tupperware container in the fridge. This way, it's already cut for you so you're more tempted to eat it and put it in things....and it is very accessible. I think it's going to be the start of a new relationship between muggins and lettuce.

So, some other exciting things I'm amped about eating that I got: Morningstar buffalo "chik" nuggets - mmmm.....also got some meatless crumbles and some organic mac n cheese that I might throw together.....and last night I made (thanks to the inspiration from Orange Bicycle) whole wheat penne with chicken apple sausage in a marinara sauce. and MMMM it's yummy! Especially with some of that bad ass cheese from Whole Foods. Heaven!!

So, with all that said, I definitely think the key to eating healthy (and stick with it) is to ENJOY it and to actually take the time to make tasty, healthy, fun, exciting things to eat and you won't get burned out!! Like anything, you gotta keep it interesting!

Speaking of keeping healthy eating fun and exciting....In my daily Hungry-Girl email today, I saw this. What a great idea!!

until next time....

quickie

Just a quick food review. I felt the need.





(one). Buy this. eat it. love it. dream about it. Just ate some and this will now become part of my life. Yes, it tastes as good as it smells. Frick, it's good. And not overbearing on cals either!! A decent, healthy, tasty lunch!


(two). What is your take on this milk? (mulk on a bad day, thanks to EM). Personally, I like it.....Kinda. For some reason (and this might just be my nutty brain receptors) but the aftertaste is strange. It tastes "smoked." Like, as in smoked salmon or smoked meat of some sort.... it is the strangest thing ever! Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon?


that is all. carry on.

mango chicken

I made a great meal last night for dinner. It was freaking fabulous. After the gym (amazing workout by the way, but I have somehow effed my back up - roar) I was summoned into Whole Foods by it's gravitational pull that if you get within a mile of the place you have no choice but to enter and spend lots of money. It was actually really theraputic. I love Whole Foods. I always feel like they have so much more to offer me. Like they're speaking right to me. They know my needs. ha. But really, I bought this cheese that was $23 a POUND. Luckily, I only got a sliver. For $7. But it was so worth it. I got some other cheese that orange bicycle got me into called Amadeus. MMMM.

I also purchased some organic chocolate milk (holy cow it's good. ha. get it? cow?) anyway, and some mango black bean salsa. Holy MOLY! (get it? moly? nevermind.) So yea, got some goodies and came home totally inspired and I made this:


Garlic herb potatoes, sweet corn, and a lovely grilled chicken breast with the mango black bean salsa on top. I freaking "mmmd" after every bite. I didn't want it to end. I was so impressed!! Even though all I did was cook the chicken, I didn't care. It worked! The photo doesn't do it justice....

I am feeling so good after a work week of healthy eating and some exercise. Let's see if I can make it happen through the weekend.

bueno.

oh, lettuce.

Day 4. (I'll include day 3 in this post as well b/c I didn't make it yesterday)......

Oh lettuce, how I loathe thee.
I wish you were more filling.
I wish you made me happy.
I wish you tasted like a cheese pizza.
But instead, you taste like......
lettuce.
Why are you so big and hard to eat?
Why do I leave you, still hungry?
Oh lettuce, how I loathe thee.
You do not satisfy me.
Oh, lettuce, how I loathe thee.

I've lost 2 pounds. Not a huge deal, but it made me feel better when my wii fit didn't yell at me for once!

It's funny, how the longer you eat healthy, the less you think about bad foods. I remember this from the last time I lost weight. It's like they're off your radar or something. I'm ready to hit that point. Having only been "hardcore" in my mind for four days, I am still in the "craving everything bad that I typically wouldn't eat even if I wasn't being super healthy" mode, because my mind is telling me to want what I won't allow myself to have.

For example, yesterday - super healthy. Ate well, didn't have time to get to the Y so I power walked around the block with my roommate (and oh yes, power - we were truckin'). I had barely any dinner, then my roommate brought in two mini turkey burgers that she had made (now, ground turkey, homemade burger, non-greasy - pretty o.k.) so I ate them. THEN, cord comes over. He's starving, tired, and sore from a long couple days....so I went to Wendy's to get him a burger. My insane self decided that I would get myself a small nestle quick chocolate milk (tres cute by the way) and a small fry. *side note - it's strange to see the singular of "fries" - is it "fry?" am I nuts?*

So anyway, I get these things - I know it wasn't the worst thing I could have gotten on that menu by FAR, but I still did it. Something I would have NEVER done had I not been trying to eat so damn healthy. Why do our minds make us suffer so? Why do we CRAVE the worst things when even though our habits haven't really changed too drastically, our minds are set on "super health" overdrive and we feel like those foods are sexy, forbidden, illegal, BAD and SO GOOD?!!

I seriously want to bathe in a vat of chocolate cheese meat icing peanut butter cheese. cheese. cheese.

today i've been so freaking uber good i'm making myself sick. raw broccoli makes me burp and is overrated.

yay for two pounds.